CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Police Scotland Road Safety Campaign

(17 posts)

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  1. Stickman
    Member

    Police Scotland have launched a new campaign. I don't have much hope for it if this is the standard of advice:

    Many accidents happen to cyclists because car drivers cannot see them until it is too late to stop.

    http://www.scotland.police.uk/keep-safe/road-safety/adult-cyclists

    Similar stuff for children crossing the road.

    Looks like the focus is going to be entirely on those most likely to be injured, rather than drivers changing behaviour.

    Apparently "keep your eyes open, slow down and put your phone away" is too much to ask.

    Sigh.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. gibbo
    Member

    "Bright and fluorescent materials should be worn in the daytime"

    And, yet, so many cars are painted in dark colours.

    I'd really like to know who wrote that piece of advice, and why he/she thinks cyclists can't be seen in broad daylight if they're wearing normal clothes.

    Certainly, all the reasons I can think of are due to dangerous road layouts, or parked cars blocking lines of sight - neither of which will be fixed by bright clothes - or drivers with poor eyesight, not paying attention, or driving dangerously.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. Greenroofer
    Member

    In the child cyclists bit, it has advice for parents when "your child is confidentially riding their bike". I thought that only those of us with disapproving partners rode our bikes confidentially. I'm worried if kids are doing it too.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. jdanielp
    Member

    There isn't even a section for "Adult drivers" who clearly have absolutely nothing to learn about road safety (or perhaps Police Scotland merely recognise that many adult drivers are unwilling to learn about safety, thus decided to save themselves a few quid).

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Yep, covers:

    Children in cars;
    Children;
    Child cyclists;
    Adult cyclists;
    New/Young Drivers;
    Motorcyclists;
    Elderly drivers.

    It would appear that 'adult drivers' have nothing to learn, and my unscientific experiences of virtually all of my issues on the road having been with 'adult drivers' and not the other groups is clearly flawed somewhere along the line.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Section on motorbikes basically says the truth: it can be dangerous, so be careful. I like how the cartoon shows a rider dressed contrary to the guidance of hi-viz and/or reflectives.

    It reminds me of my days riding a black motorbike, wearing black leathers and a grey helmet. I just don't know how I survived.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. Min
    Member

    They gave so much thought to this they didn't even bother to make it literate.

    Skid training courses can also be of real benefit if you vehicle was to suddenly skid.

    Just because you have a license does not mean the learning stops, a large amount of learning happens after you pass you test.

    This high rate of accidents means drivers will pay more for your car insurance.

    This one needs its own section to make sense although it still doesn't.

    Young drivers are more likely to be involved in:

    Single vehicle accidents are common among young drivers

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. wingpig
    Member

    My dad used to work with policey/firey people and often fretted at how they wrote/phrased things they were intending to allow to be seen by other people. I'll send him a link to this stuff as it might amuse him.

    "According to the Scottish Government Household Survey 2012 35% of all households in Scotland have and adult who owns a bicycle. With 2% of all people commuting to work doing so by bicycle there is substantial number of cyclists on the road network."

    Perhaps due to their tagline being "keeping people safe" they didn't know if they were supposed to include adult drivers, as it's always their sentient cars which assume the blame when they leave the road of their own accord.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. Min
    Member

    Well, that and THEY are relatively pretty safe with their side impact bars, air bags etc.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Adult drivers are the 'norm'. Agh, I'm straying into this outgroups thing, but young drivers and old drivers and cyclists and children and motorcyclists aren't the 'norm. Whereas someone from 30-60 and driving a car pretty much is the norm.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. chdot
    Admin

    Perhaps PS should just employ Neil Greig - on (same) message and can probably be relied on for communicating it.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    Private Eye

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. Calum
    Member

    The police are institutionally hostile to cyclists and pedestrians.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. wishicouldgofaster
    Member

    Things they should be saying and all relate to drivers
    You must look properly
    Bikes will be travelling quicker than you think
    You must give way, your time is not more important than a cyclists safety
    ASL and bike lanes are there for cyclists safety not for your convenience
    Plan your overtake properly and be aware of all traffic
    Give cyclists room

    and one the police will never do but it would be good to hear it (if they meant it) - bad driving will always be punished and result in points, a fine and possibly a ban

    I passed my driving test in 1987 and it was drummed into you constantly about taking care around cyclists - standards have certainly dropped!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. davidsonsdave
    Member

    “We all share the road space and need to be constantly aware of what is going on around us and of what other people are doing. As drivers that means good observation skills and making good decisions about appropriate speed for the circumstances; as cyclists it means following the rules of the road and being aware of dangerous manoeuvres".

    Fortunately, unlike cyclists, all drivers follow the rules of the road so don't need to be reminded to do so.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. kaputnik
    Moderator

    We all share the road space and need to be constantly aware of what is going on around us and of what other people are doing. As drivers that means good observation skills and making good decisions about appropriate speed for the circumstances; as cyclists it means following the rules of the road and being aware of dangerous manoeuvre

    If the police were to look at their own available data, as Streets Ahead Edinburgh did, they'd find that the vast majority of cyclist KSIs were the fault of the driver making a dangerous and/or illegal maneouvre into the cyclist and not the other way around. It's drivers they need to be hammering the bit about "rules of the road and dangerous manouvres" into.

    What they've managed to write basically implies that cyclists are a bit of a liability and probably breaking the law anyway, so be aware of them as they might crash into you.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. chdot
    Admin

    "Fortunately, unlike cyclists, all drivers follow the rules of the road so don't need to be reminded to do so."

    Can never work out if the police (at senior level - not the traffic cops who deal with realities) believe that or just make allowances for 'normal - otherwise law-abiding - people (like them).

    Posted 9 years ago #

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